George ChandyKarthika Chandran2017-12-162017-12-162016-05-12http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810037698Mixed-species flocks in two different habitats in Wayanad District were studied in order to compare the species composition and organization of flocks in both the habitats- a coffee plantation and a natural forest habitat. Studying the association of Racket-tailed Drongos (RTD) with other species within flocks and checking if there was any influence of the associating species on the occurrence of RTDs in flocks was another objective of the study. Flocks were surveyed along three 500 m trails in both the study sites and the different species, number of species, number of individuals, foraging height and foraging substrate of species within the flocks were recorded. The findings of the study suggested that there were no significant differences in the abundance of mixed-species flocks, mean species richness and mean number of individuals per flock. Though species composition of flocks in both habitats remained almost similar, the organization of species within flocks was different in both the habitats. Also, flocks which comprised of White-bellied Treepie, Dark-fronted Babbler, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Flame-throated Bulbul, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Puff-throated Babbler and Malabar Trogon were found only in the forest habitat. Canopy cover in the forest was higher than that in the coffee plantation and differences in the foraging height of flocking species in both habitats were also noted. Racket-tailed Drongos were found interacting positively with barbets, minivets, woodpeckers, nuthatches and bulbuls. The preferred associates of RTD were mostly same in both habitats. More elaborative studies with greater sample size are required to analyze such interactions to reach proper conclusions about why RTDs associate with or refrain from associating with certain species.ennullThesis